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'Captain Blood' of
Misima
By BIG PAT
Lontis is the name of a sleepy little village at the tip of Buka
island in Bougainville.
My Buka friends say it's the 'las ples' on small Buka and like all
rural settings, it's a beautiful spot.
Liak is another typical PNG village nestled on the beach on Misima
Island in Milne Bay.
My Misima friends say it's also a 'las ples' and I have to agree
that all last places are untouched and beautiful.
Both villages are on little islands that are hundreds of miles
apart on the Solomon Sea. The customs are strange to each
community. The lifestyles are diverse. Each community thrives on
fishing and garden food.
The only things they share in common are the deep blue ocean and
float some that end up on their shores with the surging tides. And
they also have one more thing in common - a bond forged by an
adventurous son.
Both villages can lay claim to a man named Bulut as one of their
citizen. There is nothing really special about Bulut except that
in PNG tok pisin, his name can be translated as 'blood'.
Charlie Bulut is originally Lontis blood but now makes Liak his
home. His wife Rose is from Liak and they have four children.
Charlie is a happy go lucky sort of character, a washed up
'Captain Blood' type in a pirate comedy, who is well known to his
Misima tambu's for his funny belly tickling jokes.
"He puts a smile on our faces," my friend John Ilaidi related as
we sat outside the Misima Lodge in Bwagaioa town last September.
When Charlie Bulut was growing up in Lontis, he harboured an
ambition to sail beyond the Buka Passage.
His ambition took him to mainland PNG as a young man and the heavy
equipment operator first settled in Lae, Morobe Province before
moving up the Highlands of Papua New Guinea with Dillingham
Corporation.
The chill of 'kol ples' Goroka chased the 'las ples' fellow
further up the highway to tea country, Mount Hagen where the
fertile Waghi Valley still produces the best 'kau kau' (sweet
potato) in the world.
When the Misima Mine opened in the 80s, Charlie packed his
highlands bilums and joined the gold rush, his experience on heavy
equipment landing him a job with Evans Earthmoving. Among many
major projects, Bulut dug and built part of what is now the Misima
Ringroad.
It was while working at the mine that he met his present wife,
Rose and following the mines closure, Bulut cancelled his Lontis
visa and stamped on a Liak entry permit.
When I arrived in Bwagaioa last September, the sun was out, the
people were up and I immediately noticed from my six foot vantage
point that everyone had curly hair except me.
But further on, outside the old basketball court where I could
easily slam dunk the ball without jumping; there was someone who
stood out like a sore thumb.
Like all Bougainvilleans, Charlie Bulut was outstanding because of
his darker complexion but at first glance, I thought this was just
another silly Misima fisherman who had gotten himself awfully
sunburnt on a dry reef!
I was further staggered when this dark skinned acquaintance spoke
in pure Misima tokples and pinched my 'kela' to see if I was
really in Misima. Curious, I pointed out to John that someone was
amiss in the crowd.
John laughed: "That's Charlie. Everyone in Misima knows him. He is
our tambu from Buka." Totally embarrassed, I found it difficult to
make myself small.
Charlie came over, grabbed my hand in a vice like grip and pumped
it energetically, and immediately remarked: "Yu mas bilong Kerema?"
(You must be from Kerema?).
We shared a buai and Charlie opened 'FM Misima' with a few jokes
which would make Kastie sound second best.
Asked if he missed Lontis, he replied: "The ocean is deep and wide
but one day, I will return to Lontis."
Physically the Milne Bay people are short and Charlie and I added
to the dilemma by taking up a bit more of the airspace. But what
they lack in height, they make up on the soccer field with their
football skills and off the field with their enthusiastic
friendship, good manners and smiles.
In Misima, it seems there is a permanent epidemic. It's called
'smile and wave' because everyone will greet you with just that. I
could not help noticing that the small township is very clean and
the people are very responsible when it comes to disposing their
rubbish.
The market is the best place to be, my Lihir work mate Betty told
me. Heaps of buai for just a kina, plenty of smoked fish and
garden produce and the people are so friendly it would take more
than an hour to complete the tour.
The children were more curious as they peered up at my silly face.
The brave ones sidled up to measure their height against my skinny
legs and went away laughing when they realized they could easily
become my walking stick.
Bwagaioa is also a popular stopover for ocean going yachts as
evidenced by several that were tied up in its small harbour.
But I will remember Bwagaioa for lovable 'Captain Blood' and the
friendliness of the Misima people. Ordinary Bulut, extraordinary
friendship. bigpatpng@yahoo.com.
 
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